Non-circular waterproof watchcase

ABSTRACT

In a non-circular watchcase, a bezel having a non-circular opening for reception of a non-circular watch glass has a cylindrical portion below the region for reception of the watch glass. The case-body has a circular opening so that it can receive the cylindrical section of the bezel and be sealed thereto by means of a circular gasket.

United States Patent Miyashita NON-CIRCULAR WATERPROOF WATCHCASE [72] Inventor: Kanii Miyashita, Suwa, Japan [73] Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Suwa Seikosha,

Tokyo, Japan [22] Filed: Dec. 13, 1971 [21] Appl.No.: 207,412

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 14, 1970 Japan ..45/ 110797 [52] US. CL, ..58/90 R, 58/91 [51] Int. Cl. ..G04b 37/08, G04b 39/00 [58] Field of Search ..58/90 R, 91, 88 R [56] I References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,959,912 11/1960 Merf ..58/90 R [4 1 Oct. 10,1972

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 915,278 1/1963 Great Britain ..58/90 R Primary Examiner-Stephen J. Tomsky Assistant Examiner-George H. Miller, Jr. Attomey-Alex Friedman et al.

[57] ABSTRACT 4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures IL/ Ill/ll PATENTElJncr 10 m2 1 NON-CIRCULAR WATERPROOF WATCHCASE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In making non-circular waterproof watchcases it has been the practice to join the bezel to the case-body by means of surfaces which are essentially similar in shape to that of the watchcase. Although gaskets may be used to effect a tight seal, it is difficult to shape the bezel and the portion of the watchcasewhich receives the bezel so that the clearance is uniform. Consequently, it has been difficult to ensure complete water tightness in such constructions. Moreover, the formation of the surfaces by means of which aseal are to be achieved is both costly and unsuitable for mass production where the surfaces are other than circular in cross-section.

' SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A water tight seal between the bezel and the casebody of a non-circular watch is achieved by making the mating parts of the bezel and the watchcase circular in cross-section and by providing a suitable gasket between said mating surfaces.

The construction as described, is suitable for elliptical, square and hexagonal watches, among others.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved construction for sealing a bezel to a case-body in a non-circular watch.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved bezel and case-body seal in a non-circular watch which is suitable for mass production and which is low in cost.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved bezel and case-body seal in non-circular watch, where the watch may beelliptical, or polygonal in shape.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.

The invention accordingly comprises an article of manufacture possessing the features, properties, and the relation of elements which will be exemplified in the article hereinafter described, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a fuller understanding of the'invention, reference is had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view through a non-circular watch in accordance with the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the watch of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial vertical section of a non-circular watch in accordance with the present invention where the section is taken along the line 33 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the watch of FIG. 3; and

FIGS. 5 and 6 are plan views of other embodiments of non-circular watches in accordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An elliptical watchcase in accordance with the prior 14 to watch glass 15. O-ring 16 is positioned under watch glass 15 which has peripheral surfaces 18 and 19, both of which are elliptical. Rubber O-ring 16 supplies the seal between watch glass 15 and case-body 13 at common surface 21. Elliptical dial ring 22 holds O-ring 16 in position, so that O-ring 16 completes the seal between watch glass 15 and case-body 13. As is evident from the drawings, bezel 12 engages case-body 13 in a snap-fit.

Due to the fact that so many elliptical surfaces are required in the structure of the prior art, and due to the fact that high precision is required, manufacturing is difficult so that mass production is virtually impossible and watchcases constructed in this fashion are unduly costly. The number of parts required is large, and the fact that the portion of bezel 12 which must seal to case-body 13 is elliptical makes water tightness uncertain. Moreover, the dial ring 22 required for this type of construction is easily deformable, so that secure retention of rubber O-ring 16 between elliptical watch glass 15 and elliptical case-body 13 cannot be attained.

Difficult and costly as is the construction of an elliptical watchcase by the prior art, the situation with respect to rectangular watchcases involving as they do, angular comers is even more difficult.

The means by which these difficulties are circumvented in accordance with the present invention is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, where elliptical watchcase indicated generally by the reference numeral 23 has a bezel 24 with an elliptical external surface 25 conforming generally to the shape of elliptical watchcase 23. Bezel 24 also has an elliptical interior surface 26 for receiving elliptical watch glass 27. The watch glass may be sealed to bezel 24 by adhesive.

Although surfaces 25 and 26 of bezel 24 are elliptical, exterior surface 29 of bezel 24 is circular in cross section. Similarly, interior surface 31 of watchcase 23 is also circular in cross-section. watchcase 23 and bezel 24 are sealed together in a water-proof joint by gasket 32. Gasket 32 may be of a relatively firm plastic or other suitable gasket material. It should be noted that interior surface 33 of bezel 24 is also elliptical carrying out the elliptical motif of the watch itself.

Reference numerals 29 and 31 in FIGS. 5 and 6, as in FIGS. 3 and 4 indicate the circular, i.e., cylindrical exterior surface of bezel 24 and the circular, i.e., cylindrical interior surface of case-body 23.

As can be seen, the sealing structure of the present invention requires fewer parts than the structures of the prior art, the areas which must be formed with high precision are circular rather than non-circular, resulting in the achievement of greater precision of manufacture at lower cost and in a more effective and longer lived water-tight seal between the bezel and the casebody. Moreover, the structure in accordance with the present invention is applicable to polygonal watches as well as to elliptical watches.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above article without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, andall statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter 6 of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

What is claimed is: I

l. A sealing structure for a noncircular waterproof watch, comprising'a non-circular watch glass, a bezel having a non-circular opening in the upper surface thereof for reception of said watch glass, a case-body surrounding and supporting said bezel, said case-body having a cylindrical opening therein; and a circular gasket within said cylindrical opening, said bezel having a cylindrical exterior surface so dimensioned as to 

1. A sealing structure for a non-circular waterproof watch, comprising a non-circular watch glass, a bezel having a noncircular opening in the upper surface thereof for reception of said watch glass, a case-body surrounding and supporting said bezel, said case-body having a cylindrical opening therein, and a circular gasket within said cylindrical opening, said bezel having a cylindrical exterior surface so dimensioned as to form a water-tight seal between same and said cylindrical opening in said case-body by means of said gasket.
 2. The sealing structure as defined in claim 1, wherein said non-circular watch glass is sealed to said bezel by means of adhesive.
 3. The sealing structure as defined in claim 1, wherein said watch is elliptical.
 4. The sealing structure as defined in claim 1, wherein said watch is polygonal. 